Automatic pistol and other magazine small-arm.



W. J. WHITING. AUTOMATIC PlSTOL AND OTHER MAGAZlNE SMALL ARM.

APPLKCATION FILED JULY 20,1914.

Patented June. 15, 1915,

2 2967-5307" [Lava 17; wa ing,

wz%@ .5 S as W. J. WHITENG. AUTOMATIC PISTOL AND OTHER MAGAZINE SMALL ARM.

7 APPLICATION FILED )ULY 20,1914.

Patented June 15, 1915 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

somr .wgwma psunswem'n, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

AUTQHATIG ?,ISTOL.A1T.D.OT11EJ$ EAGAZINE SMALL-ARM.

To all whompt lhdy concern: Be-it known that I, WILLIAM Jenn Warr- INc, subject of the King of Great Brltain,

. residing at 111 Antrobu's road, Handsworth,

Birmingham, England, director of Public Company, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Pistols and other Magazine Small-Arms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to automatic pistols and other small-arms of the detachable magazine type, and consistsina magazine-controlled lock or firing mechanism which is also adapted to serve as an automatic safety arrangement, since the said mechanism is only operative for effecting the discharge ofa; cartridge when themagazinc is in its norms! position in the armand serves to maintain certain members" or para of the lockQin effectiverelationship-withkone another, whfll'eas on thesaid-magazine being entirely or partially withdrawmihe said lock is immediately. an automatically so disorganized that it'is impossible for the arm to be fired by pulling the rtrigger. The invention thus affords a safeguard against accidental discharges due to the'trigger being pulled after a live cartridge has been left in the barrel chamber when the magazine is removed and the hammerior striker of the lock is cocked.

The said invention fisparticularly applicable to automatic pistols of the Webley and similar types, in which the trigger is arranged in front of the magazine chamber in the handle or grip of the arm while the sear is mounted in the rear part of the frame and is actuated from ,the said trigger through a bar oi limb that extends across the side of the said magazine chamber.

The accompanying drawings show one method of applying my invention to a hammcrless pistol of the above-mentioned kind.

Figure 1. of-the said drawings is a general sectional view of a: pistol embodying a magazine-controlled lock or firing and safety system ,in accordance with this invention. This view shows the parts ofthe said lock in their normal or ready-to-fire positions in which they are held by the detachable magaby dotted lines.

.the pistol) the nose f Spee iilcation ofvLette rs Yatcnt. Patentgfl J 119 15, 19111 Application 1 July 20, 1914. Serial 1%. 851,995.

. zine when the latter is-secured in the magezinechamber of the arm and the striker is held in cock by the sear. Fig.2 is a view on an" enlarged scale, showing only'the lock mechanism, the striker of which is indicated- In this view, the several parts are represented in the same positions as in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is another view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts of the safety lock in the inoperative positions which they automatically assume on the magazine being withdrawn. Fig. 4 shows separate detail views of the sear which is embodied in-the particular form of magazine-controlled lock illustrated in Figs. 1

Thesame letters of reference indicate cori responding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In the pistol shown in-the said figures, the frame a carries a detachable barrel 6 and a detachable and reooiling breech sleeve .2,

both of which are normally secured to the said frame bya trigger-guard fasteningd as described in the specifications of my application for Letters Patent, Serial'No. 851,998, while the-breeeh-sleeve is fitted with a sliding striker e which is removable bodily. with the said sleeve as described in the specification of my application for Letters Patent Serial No. 851,997, and is associated with a sear f contained in the part of the frame above which the breech-sleeve is mounted. This sear 7, which is capable of a vertical rising and falling movement, is mounted between a pair ofguide-grooves' a formed inside thenpper part of the frame at the back of the magazine chamber g and is influenced by a spring 7, whereby, during the recoiling movement of the breech sleeve and striker c, e (or when'the said sleeve and striker are vertical movement of the spring-lifted sear,

is, however, limited by a stop f which is carried by or formed on the frame and engages a recess 7 in the front of the said Sear; this stop being so disposed that when the breech sleeve and striker are withdrawn in disassembling the pistol,-it serves to keep. the sear'in itsplaoe in the frame and to hold it in the position shown in Figs. 2 and- 3 where the sear-nose f is in the path of the shoulder a, so that, after the replacement of the said sleeve, its first cocking movement will 'cause, the striker to travel rearwardly over the sear which, first yields downwardly to allow the said shoulder eto pass beyond the sear-nose o and then springs upward intoits cocking engagement with the said bent.-

* The trigger fecting the disengagement the sleeve-contained striker is also in the frame and is, in accordance with the present invention, so entirely controlled by the detachable magazine It that it is only whenthe latter is in its normal position in the chamber 9 that operative connection be-v tween the trigger a and the sear f is established, whereas if the magazine is withdrawn when the striker is cooked, the said mechanism "1s automatically disorganized or so put out of action that no movement can be transmitted to the scar on the trigger being pulled. Or 'even if the striker is cocked by hand after the withdrawal of the magazine, the sear-actuating parts of the lock still remain disorganized and inoperative, but, on the other hand, they are positive'ly restored to the positions in which they establish a firing connection between the trigger and the sear by the act of replacing the magazine within the chamber, while as the whole of the said sear-actuating parts are entirely inclosed inside the frame of the pistol, it is impossible for them to be placed in or restored to their firing positionsexcept through the medium of the magazine as aforesaid,

The sear-actuating parts of the lock shown in the drawings consist of a lever j which is designed to act upon, and impart a downward movement to,'the sear, and an operating bar is which is pivotally attached to the said lever 7' and serves to transmit movement thereto from the trigger i.

The lever 7' is arranged within an upright recess or clearance j formed inside the .frame, immediately behind the magazine,

, chamber 9, and is pivoted at fin-the lower part .of the said recess so as to be capable 66- of a limited angular movement therein.

This lever is influenced bye-spring j which tends to rock its upper portion forwardly,

or to cause the same to extend into or lie within the magazine-chamber (as shown in Fig. 3) when the magazine is not in position, while its upper end is formed with a cam-like rearward extension j which is ada 'ted to bear upon the inclined upper our ace of the slidable sear and to impart a operated mechanism for. ef-

of the sear from mounted 1 I per plunger m downward or striker-releasing movement thereto when the said lever is rocked or.tilt-' ed in the rearward direction in opposition y to the spring I Asiregar'ds the operating bar In, this-ex tends from' the upper part of the lever? across'the side of the magazine chamber-t0v near the back of the trigger i which is furnished with a stud or contact piece i wherewith the front end of the said bar engages, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when the parts of '15, the lock are'in their normal or ready-to-fife positions, while the said bar is also influenced by' the spring j and is thereby normally held in-its proper relationship tothe lever 55 although it is also capable of alim- '80 ited an lar movement relative to the said lever. 0 provide for this action, the'pi'votpin is of the bar It works in a bearing in the upper part of the lever j and the spring v j which influences both'member's 7', k,.is located in an inclined hole or recess m cut in I the member 5; and is provided, at its-opposite -extremities, with plungers m m*, the upper plunger at being adapted to. bear in an angular-sectioned seating m arrangedbelow and in front of the center ofthe bar-pivot is, while the lower plunger m has a stationary hearing at m, behind-and below the center of the lever pivot 55, at the back of the frame recess 9' wherein the lever j-is mounted. Thus the spring j, in addition to tending to tip or rock the lever j forwardly into the magazine-ch amber, also tends to rock the bar is in the upward direction, but this latter movement is limited by the upengaging the seating-m in the barpivot is and serving as a stop which determines'the normal relationship of.;the members y, is, but leaves the latter free to make a limited movement in the downward direction relative to the said lever for a pur-i pose hereafter mentioned. a In the" lock-mechanism "above described, both of the spring-influenced members that transmit the trigger movement to the sear are positively and directly controlled by the magazine 72., as when the said magazine is in its prescribed place within the magazine. chamber (see Figs; 1 and 2) its rear side bears against the upper part of the lever j, 115 and holds the said lever and the bar I: in the positions shown in the said figures wherein the forward extremity of the said bar is behind and in direct engagement with the trigger-contact z" and the cam-extension j bears upon the top of the sear, so that on the trigger being pulled (when the pistol is cocke it acts through the bar 70' on the lever 7' and causes the latter to make a rearward angular movement, in the course of which its cam wipes over the top of the sear and depresses the same out of engagement with the striker. If, however, the magazine is withdrawn,

' then, as-soon as its rear side has moved clear of the upper part of the lever j (see Fig. 3)

the latter is, (by the thrustexerted by the spring j from a' point rearward of its pivot) constrained to ti or fall "forward into the empty magazine chamber until its lower end 7? comes against the stop '7" in the lower part of the frame-recess i This movement of ward isdrdp d "a distance below the the limb carriesthe cam-7" away from the sear-and also'displaces the bar In whose for- QcontactFstud on t e, trigger, as shown in Fig." Thefllock or firing-mechanism of the.-

Yistol. is thus automatically and complete y disorganized and is kept in such condition by the spring 7" so long as the upper els positlvelylrestoresthe members j, 1:, into the art'of the magazine chamber .is vacant.

- at on a ma me being pushed back into the said chain 'r, itcontacts with, and travup. the ,front of, the lever j and thereby positions shown in Figs' 1 and2and keeps the look operative or effective for firing purposes so long as it .(the magazine) remains inits normal place in the pistol.

The arrangement which admits of the bar In, making a limited downward movement relative to the lever 7' when the magazinecontrolled lock is in its operative condition, is adopted in order to admit of a slight play between the two members j, 70, whenthe bar k is actuatedfrom the trigger, and alsor'the urp'ose of enabling the said bar to be tilted slow the contact-stud of the trigger by means of the breech sleeve for rendering the lock mechanismino erative during the recoiling movementof the said sleeve and for insuring that, after the trigger has been pulled for effecting a discharge, the same cannot be reengaged by the bark until the breech-sleeve has been restored to its closed a position and fingerq n'essure on the trigger as been relieved. o attain this result, the bar In is formed with a curved upper-.edge which (when the-arm is ready for firin lies in a cam-ended recess in one side of the breech-sleeve as shown in Figs. 4 and 8 of m co-pending application Serial No. 851,996, so that when the said sleeve starts to recoil along the fra'ine, the cam end of the said recess travels over the curved edge of the bar and rocks the latter, in opposition to the'spring j, in the downward dlre'ction in i order to temporarily but positively disengage the front end of the said bar from the trigger contact. edge-of the sleeve then comes over and rides along the bar and keeps the latter in its depressed position until the said sleeve has completed its recoiling, and return. movements, whereupon the sleeve-recess comes again over the bar, so that when the fingerpressure on the trigger is relieved and after the said trigger has been returned-toits The straight or unrecessed normal position by its spring, the bar is may lifted by the spring 9' and rengaged be.-

hind the trigger-contact, whereupon the lock' is again effective for firing the next shot.

In the particular construction shown in the drawings, the'magazine-controlled members ofthe lock, together with their spring 7', are mounted on a piece n which, for convenience'in manufacture, is made separate from the frame and is rigidly or permanently secured within an opening n i'n'the rear of the said frame when the parts are assembled. The said members may, however, be mounted in a recess or clearance zine chamber inside the frame itself; or they may be fitted or applied in anyother convenient manner.

The application of the magazine-com trolled lock principle to automatic pistols of the hammer type, and also to pistols and small-a'rm's generally where a detachable magazine is employed, differs in no essential respect from its application toja hammerless automatic pistol as herein described. Having described my invention, what I claim'and desire to secure by Letters Patent 18 1-"- v 1. In a magazine small arm, in combination,.a frame, a magazine removabl'y fitted therein, a scar. in the rear of said magazine, a sear-actuating member also located in the rear of said magazine, a spring pressing which ismachined at the back of the magai said member against the rear face of the. I magazine and adapted to move said member partly iuto the space normally occupied by the magazine when the latter is withdrawn, and an operative connection between said member and the trigger arranged to assume an inoperative position when said member is moved by its spring consequent to the withdrawal of the magazine.

/ 2. In an autom tic pistol, in combination,

a frame having 7 magazine chamber and a recess in the rear "of said chamber, a scar arranged in the rearof said chamber, a trigger arranged in front of said chamber, a scar operating lever pivotally mounted in said recess, a bar pivoted to said lever and forming. an operative connection between the same and said trigger, and spring means acting'upon said lever and bar and holding said lever against the magazine,-the latter normally holding said lever'in operative position, the spring means acting when the magazine is withdrawn to move thelever to a position wherein said bar is inoperative as a connection between the same and said trigger.

3. In a magazine small arm, in combination, a frame,a magazine removably fitted therein, a slidably mounted sear, a spring.

acting on said sear, a stop .to limit the move ment of said \sear in either direction, a

spring-inflnericed'member a rranged to 013* erate the sear, the latter bemg movable independently of said member, a trigger, and

an operative connection between said member and the trigger, the said member being held by its spring against the mega-Zine and being movable when the magazine is withdrawn to a" position wherein the said eonnectlon 1s moperatlve, the magazine norn position.

mally holding said member injpperetive 10 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Witess s we .t t J v WILLIAM JOHN WHITINCn Witnesses: e t ARTHUR SADLER,

.E. J. REESE. 

